I think I may have posted about this before, but I can't remember. A few years ago, my cousin and her soon-to-be husband were having an estate sale for his father. He was moving in with them due to health reasons. Anyhoo, I went up there to say hi and check things out, when I noticed a nice coin collection by the door. (Keep in mind this was before I got re-interested in coins.) They also had a price list that one of the siblings had gathered from ebay auction comparison, not red book values. There were tons of wheats, buffaloes, mercuries, and mostly Franklin halves. I checked out the list, noticing that the prices were way too low, even then and without real knowledge. I suggested they remove them from the sale or risk getting taken advantage of. Fast forward to the near present after I got refired up about coins. I contacted them again just to see if they still had the collection and they did. I took another look, wrote down six pieces they had, so I could look up the values for them, just to give an example of what they were truly worth. They had about $37.00 marked total on the coins. After my research, I informed them that the value of the same coins was at $177.00. He offered to sell me the entire collection for $1000. There are approximately (without knowing true count and value) 100 to 150 Franklin halves ALONE. If I had the money, I would seriously consider buying in a heartbeat, then reselling what I could to make my money back. Am I a sucker, or did I do the right thing?
Absolutely, you done the right thing, you have a conscience. flip-flop Then again, why question their pricetag?
To much depends on what YOU used for pricing. Remember that if you used prices of coins being sold by dealers at coin stores or coin shows, then your prices are on the inflated side. And too this all depends on the grades of those coins, the market for those coins, the ease in selling those coins. For an example those Franklin Halves. If you check out coin shows you would notice those are not really great sellers. Naturally there are those that collect them but usually only in really high grades. That is the same with many coins that are noticably not a great seller for some reason. The Jefferson Nickel has that problem too. Note the Washington Quarters. From 32 to 35 they are usually priced in even the G-4 area but after that they must be in at least EF. So as to your situation. Those coins may well be worth a lot more than what you might pay but are they really worth that.
You did the right thing and are not a sucker for not taking advantage of your cousin. It's a bit strange to me that people even ask questions like that because what other possible answer could there be? If your cousin is still interested in selling, you could shop them around to a few coin shops and maybe they'll give you a few free coins for the assistance.
I used this year's Red Book to give them the values. I also explained that condition is a lot of the value and that my word on the condition is merely my OPINION of what they are worth. I then explained that they should definitely get a dealer's thoughts since I am still fairly new to this process. My main point of helping them was to let them know that their prices were far too low even for the ones in G condition. All in all, I don't regret helping them and if I ever get the money together, I may offer to buy the collection for the $1000 (or enough of it to make the value), but before I do, I will make SURE they are absolutely positive they want to make the sale.
You did right. If you used the red book then you are definitely high even if hitting the grades. As mentioned I would check with a few dealers. Of course you might want to search it for key dates first.
If you told them what YOU think they are worth, then THEY give you a lowball price, THEN I see nothing wrong in saying yes to THEIR price. Of course, if you DO flip them for a substantial profit, I would NOT rub their nose in it. Actually I would not mention it at all.
I agree with Bill, I think that the redbook price would tend to high. If you want to help them out buy the collection for what they want for it. If you find some gems among the rest of them and sell them, by all means share the wealth with them.
you sould buy the collection at a fair price and it is ok to make a few dollars that dose not mean you are ripping them off but you are investing you time and money
Nothing wrong with being honest. You might consider contacting a few local dealers to see what they are paying on "junk silver" because that's what they will most likely pay for coins like Franklins unless they are high grade. That could be anywhere from 8-10X face value. If they're paying 8x face for example and you have 150 Franklins you're talking $600. What other silver do they have? Apply the same formula to that. Wheat cents. Figure 2 or 3 cents each. Add it up. Is it over $1000? Are there better dates involved? Run it by them. If you could get $1200 for the collection but were able to pull a few better coins for yourself in the process you'd all benefit. Your cousin gets better money and you get some coins for your efforts and it will require some effort. I sold a collection years ago for a 5% cut. Nicer stuff but it was a lot of work. I'd never do it again for that rate. At least the guy realized how much effort I did put in it and gave me a few really nice coins as a "bonus". P.S. as informative as Redbook is I would NOT use it as a basis for value. An average circulated Franklin is little more than "junk silver" in most cases.
NO thats not too honest. But I would think you would be able to figure out a price for part or all of the collection that was btoh fair to them and a good deal to you.
I believe that knowledge should be shared in groups, on the internet, in books etc. But not in business. Now do not get me wrong, I do not believe it is right to deceive either. It would not be right to tell some one there coins are not worth their asking price, to lower it. Or for a seller to lie and say something is worth more than it is to trick a less knowledgeable collector into paying more than the coins are worth. Not many dealers care to know the value of foreign coins, so when they sell me a bag of coins for $3 and there is a $40 coin in the bag, I keep that knowledge to myself. In business Time Spent=Money and in collecting Time=Knowledge, and when purchasing coins Knowledge=Profit. You spent time & money to gain your Knowledge and I wouldn't give my Knowledge away freely in a business deal. I agree with the earlier post too, that I would never mention that my purchase was more profitable than they sold it to me. I have regular shops that I go to and I am asked did I find anything GOOD? from my last purchase and my responce is "some were nice and some weren't anything, but I just enjoy collecting". I have purchased 500, 100, 50 Yen coins from shops for ten cents each. It isn't my job to teach them that these are Japanese money currently worth 5 Dollars, 1 Dollar, and 50 cents. and the same with Swiss 5,2,1 Francs. Just examples.
You did the right thing and are not a sucker for not taking advantage of your cousin. It's a bit strange to me that people even ask questions like that because what other possible answer could there be? Nah don't feel bad. Some people marry their cousins. Now that's taking advantage of someone.:mouth:
You did right , one can never be too honest , but still remember what he would get if he sold to a dealer or all the work it is to sell on ebay , there is such a thing as an honest profit , then both sides are happy . rzage
I like Clembo's advice......if there are a lot of Franklin Halves, their sale prices are tanking. Re: Your cousin, I've always felt that blood is thicker than water!
Thanks, everyone. I feel like I made the right choice. Now to come up with some moolah and offer a fair price or help them sell for a "bonus" coin or two... *grin*
